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At last! NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter has sent photos of the Apollo lunar landing sites, the first images ever since the Apollo missions. I will say it once again, one last time: Moon landing conspiracy theorists, SHUT. THE. FUCK. UP. This is the first time that images of the lunar landing sites have been taken…
You think you enjoyed Blu-ray vs HD DVD? Memory Stick vs SD? Pshaw! You haven’t seen a format war until you’ve witnessed the betrayal and bloodbath that was Betamax vs VHS. Click to viewSony was supposed to win this. The company made magnetic tape out of like paper and mud back in the 1940s, turned…
Are you looking for a big, impractical bag to carry your belongs in? One that’ll give you shoulder problems and leave a big mark on your hip? Why not carry your stuff in a hollowed out TV? The TV bag is a repurposed Sony transistor TV that makes absolutely no sense to me. Sure, it’s…
Do you know what this is, dear Apple fanboys and haters? From the beige to the menu bar items to the Lisa Office or the iPhone, this 1983 take on Apple.com’s frontpage is pure genius. That’s exactly what this is. (click on the image for full resolution) Click to viewDave Lawrence, the author, explains: Little…
I like this idea very much: Instead of normal blinds to hide horrible views—and make horrible interiors—use one of these Better Views roller blinds. You can get night cityscapes showing Paris, Tokyo, Helsinki, and Stockholm. Unfortunately, the 100% black polyester perforated roller blinds are limited to 1,000 units each, at $475 each. A great idea…
Symbian’s Horizon program works like a record label or book publisher, says Cnet. You submit an app—please make it a good one, since they have manually review it and they’re “starting small”—and Symbian will make sure it’s kosher and then push it to a bunch of phone app stores, like Noka’s Ovi trainwreck. Good luck…
Problem: Optical media like DVDs eventually die. Solution, according to Barry Lunt: Actually carve data into a disc composed of magic hard “persistent” materials with a laser. His Millennial Disks (say that 3x fast) can be read in regular DVD drives, despite being made with a secret sauce of “persistent” materials—he drops words like gold…
In South Africa, ATMs have been weaponized with pepper spray to ward off thieves. What could possibly go wrong?? Oh, this is what could go wrong: The technology uses cameras to detect people tampering with the card slots. Another machine then ejects pepper spray to stun the culprit while police response teams race to the…
The Speak and Spell, which was first shown at CES in 1978 and sold in 1979, was one of the first gadgets with a visual display to use interchangeable game cartridges, and it taught a whole generation how to spell. Basically, you could get word packs to pop in the back, bringing new games and…
Well, how nice of Verizon: A software update for the Samsung Omnia will actually let third-party apps access the phone’s GPS, which was restricted to using Verizon’s navigation software only. Verizon: the open cell carrier. [Mobileburn] https://gizmodo.com/samsung-omnia-review-5098458
Without a doubt, this is one of the best and simplest inventions I’ve seen in a long time: A long strip of calendar days, made with a material that sucks ink to tint one complete number each day. Genius. Created by Oscar Díaz—no family relation, even while it’s my brother’s name—the 420 X 595 mm…
This cellphone comes from a dubious Chinese website, so there is no telling whether it is legit enough not to quit. However, a cellphone with a cigarette lighter built-in would certainly be a boon to smokers. https://gizmodo.com/lighter-in-a-cell-phones-skin-sort-of-sneaky-sort-of-267560 It may also be a great way to burn your pants off. At any rate, even if it…
Assaulted by $99 iPhones and whatnot, Peek’s cut the price of the Pronto to $60, and the Classic down to $20. Apparently, teenagers want to actually call people, or something. Monthly fee is still a pricey $20 though. [WSJ] https://gizmodo.com/peek-creators-have-linux-envy-reach-out-to-hackers-5310973
Zombies, rejoice, for your jobs won’t be replaced by flesh eating mister robotos. Cyclone Power—the guys who were thought to be developing flesh eating bots—are now saying that their creations are vegetarian. That’s what CEO Harry Schoell says: https://gizmodo.com/darpa-stops-trying-not-to-be-terrifying-funds-chainsaw-5311824 We completely understand the public’s concern about futuristic robots feeding on the human population, but that…
I like to take photos at night without a flash. With an iPhone. After too many Caipirinhas. Shaky and blurry, but they beat the flash look any day. Soon they may be perfect thanks to this new dark flash. Dilip Krishnan and Rob Fergus at New York University have solved the whole oh-god-look-at-everyone-looking-awful-and-red-eyed usual flash…
Aha! I hate pulling down ironing boardsand then having to fold their screechy legs back up. Having one disguised as a mirror is a great idea that would save time and space. (Just figure out stability.) [Aissallogerot via Toxel]
Brando, how kind of you to deliver us a chocolate popsicle shaped USB drive to stave off the summer heat. For sure, children are going to choke on this. [Brando via Giz.jp]
Gizmodo ’79 is a week-long celebration of gadgets and geekdom 30 years ago, as the analog age gave way to the digital, and most of our favorite toys were just being born. Click for full size
Matt told me the Alienware’s m17x notebook was blinged out like it “just landed on earth after a long trip from a planet populated entirely by a evolved race of disco lights”. I guess this is what he was talking about. [Crave] https://gizmodo.com/alienwares-allpowerful-m17x-obliterates-crysis-with-dua-5272560
Steven Leckart, my surfing buddy and Wired/BoingBoingGadget Writer, did this variation on the USDA’s food pyramid for media consumption. Agree with the proportions? I don’t. I mean, where’s the slot for comic books? [Wired via BBG]
